Deborah Lyons
Lyons in Kandahar in 2014
Special Representative for Afghanistan
In office
24 March 2020 – 16 June 2022
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
Preceded byTadamichi Yamamoto
Succeeded byRoza Otunbayeva
Canadian Ambassador to Israel
In office
19 July 2016 – 2020
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byVivian Bercovici
Succeeded byLisa Stadelbauer
Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan
In office
10 July 2013 – August 2016
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Justin Trudeau
Preceded byGlenn V. Davidson
Succeeded byKenneth Neufeld
Personal details
BornMiramichi, New Brunswick, Canada
EducationBA University of New Brunswick, 1971

Deborah Lyons is a Canadian diplomat. She served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) during 2020 to 2022. Prior to her United Nations posting, she was Canada's ambassador to Israel (2016–2020) and to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2013–2016). In October 2023, she was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to replace Irwin Cotler as Canada's Special Envoy on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism.

Early life and education

Lyons grew up in the Chatham neighborhood of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada as one of nine siblings.[1][2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1971, graduating as the first female valedictorian in the university's history, and earned certification from the International Studies Program at the Canadian National Defence College in 1993.[3][4][5][6]

Lyons owned and managed a hunting and fishing lodge on the Miramichi River and an energy and environment consulting firm prior to becoming involved in government.[6][7]

Career

Lyons was appointed Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on 10 July 2013. She was the only female ambassador in Kabul during her first two years in role, until being joined by ambassador of the United Kingdom to Afghanistan, Dame Karen Pierce, in 2015.[8] During Lyons' tenure, the Canadian Embassy in Kabul moved to the forefront of women's issues in Afghanistan. In regards to her role as the highest ranking female diplomat in Kabul and the impact of her position, Lyons said in 2015, "One thing I know it has done is it has helped the Afghan women’s groups — it has helped validate them, and it has helped them believe that they have got a strong champion for their issues and for their work."[7]

On 19 July 2016, she was appointed ambassador to Israel by Stéphane Dion, Foreign Affairs Minister of the Trudeau Cabinet. She replaced Vivian Bercovici, a controversial appointee who, while serving as envoy to Israel, had made demeaning statements about Palestinians, expressed agreement with and approval of Benjamin Netanyahu's views and his Likud government, and gained a reputation among staff of Global Affairs Canada as "unschooled in diplomacy."[9] Lyons' appointment was welcomed by the Canadian diplomatic corps and Ferry de Kerckhove, a former Canadian envoy to Indonesia and Egypt, noted that the selection of an experienced and intelligent diplomat "underscores the importance that Canada attaches to Israel."[10]

She helped unveil a monument for guards at her embassy who were killed during the Kabul attack on Canadian Embassy guards.

Awards and achievements

References

  1. ↑ Lyons, Deborah (26 August 2022). "S5-Episode 12: Leading in Tragic Times". Awake at Night (Interview). Interviewed by Melissa Fleming. United Nations. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  2. ↑ Ryhno, Darcy (2016). "Canada's ambassador to Israel". Saltscapes Magazine. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "Biographical notes: Deborah Lyons (BSc Hons [Biology], University of New Brunswick; certificate, National Defence College)". Global Affairs Canada. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Secretary-General Appoints Deborah Lyons of Canada Special Representative, Head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan". United Nations (Press release). Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Leadership - UNAMA". United Nations.
  6. 1 2 "UNB alumni invested into the Order of New Brunswick". University of New Brunswick. November 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  7. 1 2 Fung, Mellissa (14 August 2015). "Canada's envoy to Afghanistan a boon to women". Toronto Star. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  8. ↑ Armstrong, Sally (16 January 2015). "The Interview: Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons". Maclean's. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Fife, Robert (19 July 2016). "Dion shuffles diplomatic ranks, replaces controversial Tory appointees". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  10. ↑ Proudfoot, Shannon (19 July 2016). "Why Justin Trudeau shook up Canada's diplomatic corps". Maclean's. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "2016 Order of New Brunswick recipients". Government of New Brunswick. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  12. ↑ Hantiuk, Dan (1 August 2016). "10 names added to Order of New Brunswick". CBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
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